I absolutely loved this book. I would love to see a movie or netflix adaptation. The narrator was wonderful. Kept my attention through the whole book.

The King is dead. I found this book boring and contrived.More a vehicle to push his political angst.... I get enough of that from the news. I will not purchase another book from Mr. Stephen King, unless he wants to go back to being a horror writer and not a political analyst.

As always, King doesn’t disappoint. This is a good book and I found it hard to put down. The narrator did an excellent job and it took about five minutes to wheel me in.

this was a fascinating book! Stephen King as usual did it again. The narrator did a great job

Great story, but what else could you expect from Stephen King. I loved all of the different voices the narrator incorporated into the story. It made the story come alive.

Another excellent story by Stephen. And actually completely feasible. I hope someone picks this up and makes a series out of it. On the level of stranger things.

Doreen said this was boring?? She was reading a Dr. Suess book maybe because this was dynamic!! It checked all bloxks; great plot, interesting characters, great climax etc.cant wait for the screen adaptation

It was good but I was hoping it would tie in more with the world of the Ggunslinger. Thought these kids would be the counterparts to the ones used to try and break the tower!

Great book!! I didn’t want the story to end!

Loved it it kept you going til the end.

great book

Fantastic book!!!

Loved this book ! Kept me in suspense. Will definitely recommend it.

A modern masterpiece.

I enjoyed the book, it kept my attention and it was my first audio-book in a long time, Now! Age wise, I don't know what I expected, more craziness but this was not that kind of book, but a good read overall most likely for a teen! If adapted into a movie...I would definitely watch! The narration was great, I was annoyed by the 6-year olds voice, I HATE BABY TALK! but good!

kept us riveted till the very end! great book, great narrator!!!

I kept thinking about this as part of what King started with in Firestarter, which I've only seen the movie. It is a great story athough a bit sad and I will admit it got me in the feels a few times.

This was a nostalgic listen to Stephen’s brand of writing. Children, hero, telephones, corporate bad guys, good vs evil (maybe

Fantastic book. I listened to it in my car and home because I could not stop listening to it. It was wonderful, as usual.

Good story but not scary. King was a bit verbose as usual but he still tells a good story.

This is a great book and keeps you interested from start to finish! And I'm not a big Stephen King fan.

Great read (listen) Stephen should never stop writing

So good that I couldn’t stop listening. I would take the long way home from work! The character development was fantastic and I felt like I knew these kids.

Narrator's voice, speed, different characters, ROCKS! The beginning of the book was just phenomenal and irresistible. I found myself wanting to drive to long way home to listen to more of the story. The book "lost" a star in my mind because of the abrupt ending. The story was just fantastic though, I sure hope this book is made into a movie. It sure will be creepy to watch.

I found this book great ,I didn't want it to end, it was full of just the right stuff for me . I laughed at times, I was scared at times, and I cried at times. I know I will re-listen to this book again in a few months. Can't wait until Stephen King comes out with his next book.

I found myself just wishing it would hurry up and end. This was one on the more boring novels I’ve listened to in a while. It could’ve been about 1/3 as long as it was.

excellent narrator and book, highly recommend !

I'm a pretty big SK fan, but agree with some of the other reviews, this one doesn't rank. Not to say there weren't intriguing moments, but overall predictable and missing the creativity and originality I expect from him. Rather disappointed. Narration was as well ho hum, nowhere near as good as Chris Wasson or Frank Muller readings of King's work.

I just love King. Narrator is superb. Have a feeling there’s a sequel in the works.

Absolutely loved this book. The King is alive and well. Narration was great. Normally only listen while driving but had to listen in the house as well.

Fabulous I really enjoyed this story

Very nice read/ listen narrator was great.

The reader doesn’t know what SC women sound like and the book keeps making nasty political shots. Just disgusting when you want to hear a story. 2 hours was way more than enough for me. Deleting from my Library now.

Thoroughly enjoyed the book. Kept me entertained.

Loved it. Will probably relisten at some point.

Overall disappointment!

Highly recommended! It’s hard to go wrong with a Stephen King book and this one did not disappoint. I loved the references to current times and culture. Sort of made it feel like some of it could be more on the nonfiction side of things, scary as that could be. The narrator takes the cake on this one though! Well read, loved the different voices for the different characters, and the emotions of the scenes can definitely be felt. And the length of it was perfect for what I was looking for… someone to tell me a story that lasted longer than 1 hour!

Great book and very good reader. Loved how it all came together

Another brilliant book from SK. At first I was turned off at the similarities with Firestarter. As I got deeper I realized it was it’s own book and absolutely loved it. And related to it. Anyone who’s been a subject of the old AMHI knows the horrors of institutions. This was an awesome and terrifying story.

So Glad I Finally Got This One! The King did it again!

Awesome job narrator.

Love this book finished it in like a week love the reader as well amazing

Not quite up to his usual standard.

The book was OK. I did not like the ending.

This concept is like an X-Men First Class style novel. Kids with special abilities and how they can change the world. Throughout the long novel, I had to keep up with remembering so many names and characters. I kind of let it go after a while, too many to really keep track of them all. Seeing that it’s a big facility Luke is in, there are a lot of people around him and involved. I did take a few breaks from listening since it did seem to drag on in parts. Overall I liked it, but if you’re a ‘quick to the punch’ kind of listener, you may find yourself a bit bored at times.

I like Steven King but him putting politics into his writing is a turn off.

I enjoyed the story, but felt that it dragged a bit and the ending was inevitable. Was just a twisty way of getting to the same conclusion. Typical King. Very almost too detailed.

Riveting. I could not stop listening to this book, to the point of fighting to stay awake until there was a good point to stop...which there never was!

Great book! I didn’t want to stop listening.

Thoroughly enjoyed the book. The narrator was excellent.

Great, but that's not really surprising from King at this point.

interesting and well read

I enjoyed it, kept my attention. ending left a little to be desired, perhaps there will be a sequel..... Good listen though either way.

I couldn’t get into this book and didn’t finish it-maybe it was narrator of audio book-to me his voice often droned on. But I also felt story and characters were predictable. I miss King’s earlier works like the Shining and the Stand. I haven’t been as impressed with his work for awhile. This had good reviews but it wasn’t for me

Absolute 10/10

More, more, more!!

I absolutely loved this! There was no nonsense, just solid storyline page after page. I liked this way of writing by Stephen King!

Great audio . I couldn’t stop listening

I always enjoy Stephen King books that center around children

Amazing book and absolutely enrapturing story. I wasn't sure I'd get into the story, I'm a bigger fan of the supernatural and the monsters-going-bump-in-the-night type of horror, but it's hard to beat any novel by Mister King. The narration was absolutely exquisite, probably the BEST narration for an audiobook I've heard so far. Santino Fontana brought a unique breath of life to each character, all individual voices, and I quite enjoyed that.

Very interesting book and it was hard to stop leasing to it.

This story was very captivating, I like the narrator, the story line is great, I would recommend this book.

It was a pleasure to listen to. I especially loved the narrator.

totally strange just like the author. really enjoyed how different it was from the usual.

Love king but this is relentlessly dark, drawn out and repetitive.

Great! I was glued from beginning to end.

Such an imagination. Great story. Hard to put down. Occassionally too much detail but loved it.

I could easily picture the action and feel the emotions of the children

As usual, Steven King is the master story teller. Wonderful book and the narration was superb,I highly recommend this book.

enjoyable listen

Awesome sci-fi from King. Has a great pace. The plot is familiar but fun. The narrator was really good.

Amazing book with an amazing narrator!

I enjoyed this book, the story kept me interested and the plot had unique twists and turns along the way. A nice balance of good and evil, with a nice sprinkle of science fiction in the real world. The narrator was easy to follow and did a great job differentiating between characters.

Great writing, excellent narration!

Creepy kids

Another great one by Stephen king

The story builds slowly at first. The characters are fully developed and I found myself quickly invested in their adventures.

Loved it. Well read!

Loved it! And I loved that I can share with my teen, who also loves horror. This was perfectly written about youth.

great so far

Ok, a little backstory. So as an American I could not have grown up watching TV and movies without knowing who Stephen King is. However I had never read one of his Books until my mid twenties. I had gone into (Believe it or not) Border's Books. I don't think they exist anymore. But anyway the sales girl in there was a huge Stephen King novel fan. And she really sold me on his books. So the first book of hos I ventured into was Hearts In Atlantis. I read it and it was so intriguing, so enthralling up until the end where it got a little disturbing and a little wonky for me. I was needless to say, disappointed. And I just made up my mind to stick to his movies. Jump ahead almost twenty years later (yeah at 41 I'm nearing old fart age and for some I'm already there) I start listening to audio books at work. Because I'm in the "Oh God! another grey hair!" stage of life I was starting to get alarmingly sleepy at my desk while working. So I thought to myself a good horror story will keep me awake. I tried one author and was dismally disappointed. It wasn't even a horror story it was more like a story about a super dysfunctional family with some bits of supernatural crap thrown in just because. I started looking again and The Institute kept popping up on my searches. It had awesome reviews with a sprinkling of naysayers. I was skeptical because of my (granted) one and only experience having read one King novel and having been a left feeling a little weirded out by it. But I was desperate being threatened by short dozings bordering on brief naps at work. I am happy to say I was not disappointed by The Institute! While it isn't the horror I was looking for it is a FANTASTIC BOOK! I practically drank this book like it was arctic cold glass of water and I was a dehydrated desert dweller. I was at my desk making soundless claps, stifled laughs, a couple of tears and some whispered Whoops! Now I understand how King has the title of Master Storyteller! I'm officially a true Stephen King fan. Go read this book or listen to it now! I'm hopping into Doctor Sleep next for the horror I'm seeking. Wish me good reading

it was good

Addictive from the get-go! The writing is amazing and the narration is phenomenal!

Very good read! Hard to put down. A little expected in a few places but overall the story plot really makes you think. Loved it!

Great suspenseful novel! Had to take a long road trip to listen longer!

Very interesting. It kept me listening.

terrific

amazing will read again

Fantastic book! Wish it could’ve lasted forever

This is a great book. It started out kind of slow but then got me hooked so I didn’t want to put it down.

Great read. One oddly interesting thing is that I felt my teenage might find this a good intro to king. Solid read, solid story

Great book! Classic Steven King

Loved this book!

I thought the book was great and there were many times I didn't want to stop listening even though I knew I had to. Thank you Stephen King for another terrific read.

Great story!!! King still has a gift for writing children.

I enjoyed The Institue very much. The narrator was good

Always been a Stephen King fan. Another good read. Also the narrator (Santino) did a fantastic job.

I truly liked this book, very entertaining and I couldn’t turn it off.

I enjoyed the book but the plot was unrealistic. I loved the main characters and the way they came together. It was "out there" but that's what makes for a good Stephen King drama!

I liked this book although it wasn't as "King-like" as some of his others. You could still enjoy his signature style but it was a tad subdued when compared to, say, Mr Mercedes. Still, an enjoyable book. Also enjoyed the narrator very much.

I miss the old King! This book was NOT terrifying! I slept through the last minutes and have no desire to find out what happened.....I read enough to know. It had high points, but not enough for me to recommend.

It was slow at first as a lot of novels can be.. but then I couldn’t put it down..

Was disappointed and somewhat letdown. I expected more from SK. very predictable and dare I say boring. I never thought I’d say that, being a Number One Fan.

Very enjoyable book.not King's best, although some parts are as good as anything he's ever written. Ending a little overdone, but highly recommended.

Pretty standard stuff for Stephen King - mediocre and formulaic for him, but better than the average pop reading. The premise and setup was good but the potential never reached.